The Big Red Chair…

August 11, 2013Blog, branding, indie writers, Inspirational words, manuscript edits, paranormal fiction, Prue Batten, pruebatten, The Big Red Chair, writing2 Comments

Yesterday, I wrote a post called Missionary Position, a post about a writer’s aims, which was introduced to the world of the writer by acclaimed commentator Joanna Penn. It occurred to me that the questions Joanna asked were perfect for the Big Red Chair which hasn’t appeared on the blog for quite some time …. being re-upholstered as it were.

The Big Red Chair is now back, and it’s with enormous pleasure that John Hudspith, author of the acclaimed and highly popular YA paranormal books, Kimi’s Secret and Kimi’s Fear christens the new design…

Welcome, John!

Thanks for asking me over, Prue, and for the pertinent, thought-invoking questions. It seems to me that many writers both wander and wonder like headless chickens. Every `author` should have a mission statement, an awareness of what they are and why they do it and where they think they’re heading and an idea as to how the hell they think they might achieve their goals.

Question 1: What do you do?

I’m a storyteller, writer, editor, teacher, pupil, aspiring wordsmith and hopeless wannabe screaming from somewhere in the middle of the pile.

Question 2: Who do you do it for?

Good question, one that brought many answers at once. Exactly who do I do it for? I’m aware that the internet is my bookshelf, my soapbox, and I’m also aware that my bookshelf is only one among millions and that quality should matter but often doesn’t to those who fill their shelves without much thought. I could say I do it for me and mine because I like to do all things well and I like to see others put effort into whatever it is they choose to do. I could say I do it for humanity, to leave my mark, but my voice is merely a squeak among squawks. I could say I do it for the money but that would be a lie because there’s not much money unless you write trashy porn. I could say I do it for enjoyment and that would be a truth because there’s great joy to be had in creating something that others will enjoy. So, yes, I do it for many reasons but surely the reason that shines above all is the pure selfish enjoyment of being able to play with words and creation every hour of every day. So, mostly I do it for me.

Question 3: Why are you different?

Imagination… a skill that every writer has but goes mostly underused. I dig for originality and uniqueness in every tale I tell and throw clichés to the cats.

Question 4: Where are you going?

My WIP is the book I’ve always wanted to write: my message to the world that will go unnoticed. I like to think I’ve done reasonably well in my apprenticeship and now I’m tackling the big one, a tale so tall I could not have managed it even a year ago. I have great hope that I can pull it off and small hope that Tim Burton might like it enough to throw a camera at it. And, if I can pull this one off I have an even taller one waiting in the wings.

Question 5: How are you going to get there? You have a plan, right?

Absolutely. The plan was/is to learn, to progress, to improve, to start small and grow, and I’ll keep on following that plan and trying my best til my time is up.

John’s books/blog

John’s editing services

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Thank you, Johnny. The answers I think, are intrinsically you and if anyone can write a filmscript that could attract Tim Burton it is most definitely John Hudspith the writer. Break a leg!